Ted Kennedy Jr., son of the late Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy and brother of former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy, would instantly be the leading Democratic candidate in the special election to replace Sen. John Kerry, assuming he’s nominated as secretary of state.

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Ted Kennedy tribute at 2012 DNC

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Massachusetts insiders say Kennedy would be well-positioned to clear the field in a Democratic primary if he were to enter a special election to replace Kerry. But whether the investment banker chooses to run is still an open question.

“It’s no secret that Ted is interested in entering politics after a long and successful career as a disability rights advocate and businessman,” a Ted Kennedy friend and adviser told POLITICO’s Playbook on Wednesday. “Numerous people in Massachusetts have reached out to him to ask him to consider running for office there, and if Sen. Kerry is nominated to a Cabinet post, it’s fair to say that he will be giving this very serious consideration.”

Kennedy’s name is just one of a handful that comes up on the Democratic side for the Kerry seat: Massachusetts Reps. Michael Capuano, Ed Markey, William Keating and Stephen Lynch are often mentioned as potential candidates should Kerry be nominated to replace current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Despite the Bay State’s overwhelmingly Democratic politics, Kennedy would not be a shoo-in to win since current Sen. Scott Brown is also expected to run on the GOP side. Brown was defeated in the November 2012 election by Democrat Elizabeth Warren, who will take the reins in January.

But Democratic strategists in the state say Kennedy, the 51-year-old investment banker and lawyer who serves as the president of a New York-based financial-services company, would enter the race ahead of any of his Democratic challengers if he chose to do so.

“With Ted Kennedy, people will look at [him] as sort of a candidate that will clear the field,” said Democratic strategist Scott Ferson. “I just don’t know how real that prospect is.”

Calls made by POLITICO on Wednesday to the Marwood Group, Kennedy’s financial-services company, were not returned.

Massachusetts law calls for a special election no less than 145 days and no more than 160 days after a vacancy occurs, with a primary six weeks earlier. In this case, a special primary would most likely be held in spring 2013.

In the meantime, Gov. Deval Patrick can appoint a successor to Kerry, most likely a placeholder who pledges not to run in the special election. In 2009, Patrick appointed Paul Kirk, a longtime aide to Ted Kennedy who served until Brown took office.

One difficulty for Kennedy would be that he lives in Connecticut — in order to run for the seat, he’d need to reestablish residency in Massachusetts, where he was born and spent some time as a youth.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that Ted has a long connection to the state of Massachusetts,” said Democratic strategist Tad Devine.

Readers' Comments (41)

This article needs more scrutiny. As the son of Ted Sr., he inherited either Teddy's notoriously bad side, ala brother Patrick who quit Congress over alcoholism, and from the picture this looks like a pretty good bet, or his good side, but there's no evidence that this 50-something has shown a commitment to public service. Rather, he's enjoyed the private life for a substantial portion of his life expectancy, which could of course conceal such a bad side. It would appear that Democrats could be setting themselves up for another loss by allowing this potential prima donna to just waltz in from out-of-state no less and take something so important simply on the basis of his name. One can't help but believe that increasingly independent-minded Massmen and women will resent this and that Massocrats loyal to longtime workhorses like Ed Markey will likewise sit it out. The press should explore the true nature of Teddy Jr's inheritance and Massocrats should give this matter serious consideration.

Massachusetts deserve another Kennedy low life. Over rated. The Kennedys {except JFK} are creatures of a liberal media. Just like Hillary and Obama. But then honest journalism is dead. I would equate the many not all, journalists as like paid prostitutes. When you have a job to protect the public with honesty, integrity at least show fair mindedness. Obama was sold to the unwitting public unvetted, sealed records an hit of malfeasance suppressed by the media. Even Hillary lies are kept hidden. Four Americans are dead and Obama keeps maintaining an air of cool indifference. Same way with that marine chained to his bed in Mexico, the Pakistani doctor being tortured and imprisoned in Pakistan. Never would you hear from the press anything about it.

Oh Great .Just what we need. Another highbrow,narcissistic,ego-maniac progessive Kennedy.It will take us years to forget about the inventor of the "waitress sandwich",the scathing,uncalled for attack on the late Robert Bork ,and of course that little Chappaquiddick thing.America has had one too many Kennedys already and the nepotistic pattern has got to stop.

Just what we need. Another socialist drunkard Kennedy to bloviate, prevaricate and obfuscate a term in Congress while pushing for a socialist state of huge ever growing governement and anti business philosophy.

When will the stupid people of Mass. finally get an ounce of brains in their clearly empty heads????

Teddy Kennedy had a "bad side", wine, women and song. But he was a strong defender of rights for the poor and disenfranchised. He spent his whole public life doing the right thing. I would be honored if he were to come down here to Fl and run against Rubio. If he serves his state and Nation Ted would be an asset to us all.

The loons of Mazzholechusetts would elect Stalin as long as he ran as a far left Democrat. They'll elect this unqualified loser just as they just elected a totally unqualified liar and fake Indian who gamed the system. Seriously folks there's no hope for this awful corrupt one party State. We can only hope that the American States send enough conservatives to the Senate to neutralize these two Marxist A-holes

Many uninformed liberal loons don't realize ( not that they'd care anyways) that Ted Kennedy was the author and father of the horrific illegal alien nightmare that has been destroying America for 40 years. Kennedy was a DISASTER for America

""But his worst and most destructive legacy for the United States stems from his authorship of the 1965 "Immigration Reform Act" that added the bulk of our additional 100 million people into America within 40 years. It jumped legal immigration from 170,000 annually to 1.1 million annually. Added to that disastrous environmental legacy, his actions provoked a complete ethnic change of our stable society into a fractured civilization. How? He provided for entrance of immigrants from cultures totally incompatible with U.S. culture. He downgraded citizenship by not enforcing our laws or maintaining educational standards.""